My Uni Reading Update | August 2020

 I can’t believe I am in my last year of Uni! Everything has gone so fast, I didn’t think it would go so quickly, but I would do it all again right now if I could. Going in to third year also puts some pressure on you to actually decide what you want to do with your future. Honestly it is very scary and intimidating. However, I’ve still got third year to get through, and since I do a combined honours doing two subjects, that probably means a lot of work, especially with a dissertation to write. 

Doing an English degree, as you would expect involves a lot of books to buy. And you would be right, there are over twenty on the list. I’m really looking forward to getting in to the modules this year because I have a real interest in them. The modules involve: Women’s Writing, Literature 1895-1960 and Crime, Deviance and Subversion. The period of time that the novels for these modules are really interesting to me, especially the early 20th century. 

I've read about five so far, but some of them are so hard to get in to I end up just putting them down after about 100 pages. I'll get back to them later. My favourite so far has probably been 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain. I'm actually only about 250 pages through it but I love the hints of feminism and the autobiographical nature, the psychological and personal accounts of Vera herself. It makes it that more relatable and I think it makes the reader more empathetic. 

I also really enjoyed 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood. This book is a modern classic, and I only read it a few months ago. The different world of Gilead and the gender roles and treatment shows how our social norms have also changed over time, and the revolutionary change of power and hierarchy can be transformed in a matter of moments. 

'The Magic Toyshop' by Angela Carter was an interesting read too. I didn't like it as much as the other novels I've mentioned but I liked the foregrounding on childhood, and the bildungsroman nature of it. However, the structure and the contents somehow reminded me of Great Expectations by Dickens. I didn't very much enjoy Great Expectations so therefore, it wasn't my most anticipated read. 

My next read will probably be The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov. I started this one a few weeks ago, but the nature of the plot really confused me so I'm going to go back to it. 

I've only got a few more week until Uni starts again, so I really need to get on with reading! 

Happy Reading, 

Rose x 

https://www.goodreads.com/chapterofroses